Introducing Our 2014 Apprentice Directors

Ever wondered what it takes to become a theatre director? The following four people are going to find out this season as they take on the challenging & rewarding role of Apprentice Director at Bard. Find out what inspires them to direct and what excites them most in the coming season!

Michelle: I love the challenge of telling a story in my own way. Why else would 450 year old stories continue to be produced if not to shine a light on some aspect that speaks to you personally? The challenge of collaborating with a group of artists to tell these stories in a way that delights the audience continues to be one of the most compelling aspects of working in theatre and it never grows old for me.

Mack: I wanted to become a director after learning about the auteurs of 60s and 70s cinema. They were like story painters. I’ve since learned that the auteur theory is misleading, particularly in the collaborative world of theatre, but the idea of constructing a work of art using actors, set, lights, and words still seems to me to be the best kind of storytelling there is.

Katrina: I’m drawn to directing because it demands a strong sense of big and small picture; of how to carry a story while getting out of the way and allowing the story to tell itself. I started training as an actor and was frustrated with only having one character to love. Directing appeared to me as a way to love and engage with all the characters of a play, including the set, the lights, the costumes and the full scope of the breath of a show. It’s very humbling to work to both contain and allow the story, and still letting curiosity explode within it.

Guy: I trained as an actor at UBC and over the years have grown increasingly hungry for greater control over theatrical creation in the pursuit of artistic expression. I thoroughly enjoy – indeed, thrive in – the role of a steward and guide who encourages the collaborative process. The position of director affords me a better position to use every opportunity to unravel, then illuminate, the inherent theatricality of a piece to address the questions of why this, why now, and what makes this theatre?

What are you looking forward to most about the season & working at Bard?

Michelle: Well first and foremost, I am super excited and grateful for the opportunity for work with director Dean Paul Gibson on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I know the play really well and it is always such a romp – and as I am not from Vancouver (I call Winnipeg home) I must add working in Vancouver to the list of what to look forward to. Here in Winnipeg, we have been in a cruel, deep freeze of a winter for four solid months and I look forward to heading that way for some warmer weather. I have seen past Bard on the Beach productions and I am eager to both participate and attend all the productions that are slated for this coming season; in particular Cymbeline which is a personal favourite of mine!

Mack: I’m really looking forward to working with Meg Roe and the production team. There are a lot of mysteries to me about working for a company with as many resources as Bard has and I’m excited to see how jobs are delegated and how people communicate. I’m also excited to see how Meg works with a cast as large and talented as the one we’ll have for The Tempest.

Katrina:I’m looking forward to working on Equivocation because it delves into Shakespeare as a person, his moral struggles with writing, and how his life influenced his career. The play blends history and fiction, and it’s exciting to have such a show about Shakespeare happening right next to his own plays. ‘Speaking the truth in difficult times’ is a major theme and has yet to go out of date. The show has heart, humour, history, it’s both political and personal and I’m thrilled to get to be a part of the action.

Guy: I am so glad to be working with Anita Rochon on Cymbeline this season because, not only is she a bright light on the scene, she will be addressing what I see as two pressing issues regarding contemporary productions of Shakespeare: make lesser-known plays vital and compelling to audiences, and use a smaller cast to bring the story to the stage. I have been a long-time supporter of Bard, so for me now to be part of the season is personally and professionally rewarding.

Congrats to Michelle, Mack, Katrina and Guy. We’re looking forward to working with all of you this season! And thank you to the RBC Foundation for their support of the Emerging Artists Program.